Troy Ruhanen Named New TBWA Worldwide CEO

Omnicom Group has appointed Troy Ruhanen, most recently an executive vice president at the ad holding company, as the new worldwide chief executive of TBWA.

Mr. Ruhanen is taking over the CEO reins from Tom Carroll, who had served as the agency’s worldwide CEO since 2007 and will continue as TBWA Group’s chairman.

The executive change comes as questions have emerged about the health of the agency’s relationship with its long-time client Apple. The tech behemoth has been doing some of its own advertising work internally, CMO Today has previously reported, citing people familiar with the matter. E-mails from Apple’s marketing chief Phil Schiller, revealed during a trial earlier this year involving a patent dispute between Apple and Samsung, showed just how rocky the relationship between Apple and TBWA was at one point. One email, written in early 2013, revealed that Mr. Schiller considered firing TBWA.

Apple’s relationship with TBWA dates back decades and is responsible for a slew of successful ads including the famous “1984” Super Bowl ad that introduced the Macintosh personal computer.

Mr. Ruhanen, who had been seen as Mr. Carroll’s successor, is well known for his strong ties to big marketers. Before taking a post at the holding company level last October, he held senior positions at Omnicom agencies, including chairman and CEO for the Americas at BBDO Worldwide. While at BBDO, he led one of the agency’s largest accounts, AT&T.

Mr. Carroll said in a statement he and Mr. Ruhanen have ” worked closely across a number of initiatives this past year and he’s the perfect person to take us to the next level.”

“(Mr. Ruhanen’s) experience in leading Omnicom agencies across geographies and categories makes this a seamless leadership transition that will build upon TBWA’s capabilities and reputation as one of the best in the business,” said Omnicom Chief Executive John Wren in a statement.

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